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This introduction to human geography explores the relationship between humans and their environment, distribution of natural phenomena, settlement patterns, and spatial patterns. It addresses key questions such as what, where, and how of geography and the impact of location on people's lives. The book emphasizes the rational organization of the earth's surface and the importance of spatial patterns in understanding human life on earth.
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An Introduction to Human Geography The Cultural Landscape INTRODUCTION Thinking Geographically
WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY? Geography, as a discipline does claim to be a valid and revealing approach to contemporary questions of political, economic, social, and ecological concern. Themes of geography include: Humans and environmental interaction Distribution of natural phenomena affecting the human use of the earth The Cultural patterns of settlement and exploitation of the physical world
To best understand geography is to understand the questions geographers ask. • What is it? • Where is it? • How did it come to be what and where it is? • Where is it in relation to other physical or cultural realities that affect it or are affected by it? • How is it part of a functioning whole? • Who does its location affect peoples lives?
THETRUTH There is a fundamental truth answered by geography: things are rationally organized on the earth’s surface and that interpreting spatial patterns is an essential starting point for understanding how humans live on earth.
HOW DO WE FIND PLACES? • The location of the place may be described in both absolute and relative terms. • ABSOLUTE LOCATION: records a precise position on the surface of the globe, usually in terms of a mathematically based reference system. • RELATIVE LOCATION: Describing the position of a place or thing in relation to other places or things. • Indicate whether the following are examples of absolute or relative location. • a. terminal of the Erie Canal • b. 221 B Baker Street • c. lower California • d. along the Potomac River • e. 42° 30’N, 90°43’W • f. south of the border • g. Township 2 West, Range 3 North • h. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave
PHYSCIAL AND CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES • All places have physical and cultural attributes. In Geography we study the relationship between the two. • Physical characteristics refer to: climate, soil, water supplies, and resources. • Everything we do leaves an imprint and this visible imprint is called the Cultural Landscape.
HOW DO PLACES INTERACT? • Spatial interaction—how places interact with each other. • To be able to understand how places interact with each other we must understand distance. • Distance affects everything humans do. Distance affects humans on different scales. • Small scale—personal • Large scale—U.S. History-settlement patterns of the U.S. • How has technology helped us reduce distance? • Distance Decay—as everything is related to everything else, relationships are stronger when things are near one another. • To get a better understanding of distance and technology think about the history of the delivery of news.
REGIONS • To study larger areas of land geographers are able to divide places into regions. Regions are areas divided because there is a similarity. This could be political, physical, cultural, or because of the climate. Types of Regions • 1. Formal—essential uniformity in or on limited geographic features. • 2. Functional—parts are interdependent w/each other and forms an organized system.
How Geographers Address Location • Maps • Early mapmaking • Map scale • Projection • Land Ordinance of 1785 • Contemporary Tools • GIS • Remote sensing • GPS
World Political Boundaries (2004) Fig. 1-1: National political boundaries are among the most significant elements of the cultural landscape
Maps of the Marshall Islands Fig. 1-2: A Polynesian “stick chart” depicts patterns of waves on the sea route between two South Pacific islands. Modern maps show the locations of these Marshall Islands.
Scale Differences: Maps of Florida Fig. 1-3: The effects of scale in maps of Florida. (Scales from 1:10 million to 1:10,000)
Township and Range System in the U.S. Fig. 1-4: Principal meridians and east-west baselines of the township system. Townships in northwest Mississippi and topographic map of the area.
Layers of a GIS Fig. 1-5: A geographic information system (GIS) stores information about a location in several layers. Each layer represents a different category of information.
Site: Lower Manhattan Island Fig. 1-6: Site of lower Manhattan Island, New York City. There have been many changes to the area over the last 200 years.
Uniqueness of Places and Regions • Place: Unique location of a feature • Place names • Site • Situation • Mathematical location • Regions: Areas of unique characteristics • Cultural landscape • Types of regions • Regional integration of culture • Cultural ecology
Situation: Singapore Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.
World Geographic Grid Fig. 1-8: The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude. The prime meridian (0º) passes through Greenwich, England.
World Time Zones Fig. 1-9: The world’s 24 standard time zones are often depicted using the Mercator projection.
Election 2000: Regional Differences Fig. 1-10: Presidential election results by county and state illustrate differences in regional voting patterns.
Formal and Functional Regions Fig. 1-11: The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; the areas of influence of various television stations are examples of functional regions.
Vernacular Regions Fig. 1-12: A number of factors are often used to define the South as a vernacular region, each of which identifies somewhat different boundaries.
Spatial Association at Various Scales Fig. 1-13: Death rates from cancer in the U.S., Maryland, and Baltimore show different patterns that can identify associations with different factors.
World Climate Regions Fig. 1-14: The modified Köppen system divides the world into five main climate regions.
Environmental Modification in the Netherlands Fig. 1-15: Polders and dikes have been used for extensive environmental modification in the Netherlands.
Environmental Modification in Florida Fig. 1-16: Straightening the Kissimmee River has had many unintended side effects.
Similarity of Different Places • Scale: From local to global • Globalization of economy • Globalization of culture • Space: Distribution of features • Distribution • Gender and ethnic diversity in space • Connections between places • Spatial interaction • Diffusion
Globalization of the Economy Fig. 1-17: The Denso corporation is headquartered in Japan, but it has regional headquarters and other facilities in North America and Western Europe.
Density, Concentration, and Pattern Fig. 1-18: The density, concentration, and pattern (of houses in this example) may each vary in an area or landscape.
Density and Concentration of Baseball Teams, 1952–2000 Fig. 1-19: The changing distribution of North American baseball teams illustrates the differences between density and concentration.
Space-Time Compression, 1492–1962 Fig. 1-20: The times required to cross the Atlantic, or orbit the Earth, illustrate how transport improvements have shrunk the world.
Airline Route Networks Fig. 1-21: Delta Airlines, like many others, has configured its route network in a “hub and spoke” system.
AIDS Diffusion in the U.S.,1981–2001 Fig. 1-22: New AIDS cases were concentrated in three nodes in 1981. They spread through the country in the 1980s, but declined in the original nodes in the late 1990s.
